I’m not complaining about Henry not SCORING. The point I’ve been trying to put across is - with TALENT as huge as Henry’s, he should shoulder the responsibility of being the MAIN MAN and take over the game in BIG MATCHES/CRUCIAL MATCHES. That does not mean just by scoring. So often, he simply DISAPPEARED. I hope to see him in the thick of the action, to get the ball, to pass the ball, to run more, creating space for teammates…
Of course I acknowledged the contribution Henry had done for us over years, and the goals he had scored. But that’s not the POINT i was trying to make. I was talking about the CRUNCH TIME, the BIG MATCH.
When Tony Adams was with us, he always STOOD TALL at BIG MATCHES. Tony never DUCK from challenge, the biggest challenge it was, the better he became. Remember the FA Cup Semi against Spurs during the 90s? We got beaten by them two years ago in the semi final of the same competition, the Gooners had endured two-season-long abused and humiliation from Spurs fans. So try to imagine the stake in that match. Had we lost it again, it would be horrified to imagine what kind of sticks we would have been getting from the Spurs fans. It was a tight match with both teams struggling to break the deadlock, then there came Tony Adams, rose to occassion and headed in the winner, as he did again and again.
The players I love are always the one who give their BEST, and never shy away from any challenge. Why Tony and Ian Wright are among the all time favourite among the Highbury faithful? Because they always gave it all.
Put it simply - if it was Ray Parlour we are talking about, I would not expect so much from Ray, as he does not possess the same talent as Henry does. But even Parlour loves the big occassion. FA Cup 98 he was man-of-the-match, UEFA Cup semi a few years back, I think he scored a hat-trick, and FA Cup final 2002 he also scored for us.
And there is Freddie. He always singlehandly kept our momentum going during the latter stage of our 2002 double winning season, scoring crucial goals again and again, before scoring another at the FA Cup final as well.
I watched Freddie during the Man U match, if you guys are talking about the Arsenal spirit, here is one player got plenty of it. The new boy Reyes got it too. They knew Man U players would hit them hard when they had the ball on their feet, but did they scare of it? Hell NO. Watch it carefully at the thick of action, who were the players from Arsenal side who were always involved? And WHY Reyes got hit hard by Man U players time and time again, yet it wasn’t Henry? Because it was always Reyes who’s runnig with the ball.
Once again, I was not talking about GOALS Henry didn’t score. I was talking about COURAGE, HEART, and the ARSENAL SPIRIT.
11 Responses to “Courage, Heart, and Arsenal Spirit”
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October 27th, 2004 at 8:02 am
Well said Andez,
And before others start jumping up and down I’m not saying Henry is a bad player but lacks the heart, Spirit and Courage as an Arsenal player.
Is well known. He goes a bit missing during tough times.
This is what I meant yesterday talking about passion and emotion. He is too emotional and seems to have this tantrums and irresponsible posturings when things not going his way.
October 27th, 2004 at 9:15 am
I disagree…
He doesn’t lack any of those traits… and he sets up more goals than any other in the league as well. I am truly not sure what you want from him… if you could swap him straight up for ANY striker in the world, would you?
If your answer is NO… then you shouldn’t really have a negative comment for him. If it is yes, who would you swap him for…
October 27th, 2004 at 10:25 am
what do you mean he lacks heart, spirit and courage, he has refused dozen of offers from clubs around the world just to stay at arsenal. i can’t believe you would say something like that.
yest he does go missing in games but we don’t know why and that is what arsene is looking to improve.
if you say he doesn’t like spirit then why did he go crazy after the newcastle game when sol got sent off, or why did was he really upset 3 years ago after the night against panathonaikos (don’t know how to spell it) when he was angry about the tactics they were using to win the game. yes his to emotional and he has tantrums but he does it because he loves the game.
henry lacks something in big matches that we don’t know about but it definately isn’t spirit, heart or courage because he loves arsenal. and as an arsenal fan i would think u would see that.
October 27th, 2004 at 10:30 am
No stag, this is not my POINT. My point is not to sell him or to trade for anyone of the striker in the world. He is in my opinion the BEST talent Aresnal has ever had.
What i want is for him to show a bit more HEART and COURAGE to really put his feet in where it hurt. In order for us to really advance into a higher level - that means to conquer Europe, we need a player who is able to do that. And Henry definitely got the potential to carry us into a higher level. But the further we advance into the Champions League, we need BIG GAME PLAYER who really need to show up when things MATTER MOST.
I remember once Tony Adams being asked how to defend Henry in training. Tony simply said “I just kicked him!… and he would move to take on someone else!” Have anyone noticed Gary Neville had always got the better of Henry when the two went face to face? Now Gary Neville is by no mean a top class defender. But he defended like the way Adams described - by staying tight with Henry and being physical. Talent alone Henry could eat Neville alive, so i was just disappointed to see him falied to beat Neville.
October 27th, 2004 at 10:36 am
andez we all know what your talking about but we don’t why he doesn’t perform on the big stage and that is probably something Wenger is working on, i am sure he has spotted it. I don’t think it is anything pysical, i think it is pyscological. I think he gets nervous and tries to hard like Jaques Santini said, he needs to relax and stop trying to impress the crowd because he know everybody is looking at him.
i think Henry needs another striker along side him, someone like Adriano to really push but also make him feel less pressured to score goals.
October 27th, 2004 at 11:04 am
If this is HENRY…. AS IS… Take him or Leave him… then what?
I don’t agree with your heart/courage assessment of Thierry… but for the sake of arguement… lets say you are 100% correct.
He lacks that something extra in that department. He doesn’t get to the next level in the big game.
NOW WHAT?
What do you want from him? If this is the Thierry Henry you are going to get… what do you propose that we do? Do you transfer him? Do you want to bring in someone else? Whats your alternative.
You simply cannot make someone into something they are not. In other sports as well… there are GREAT players… who step up even HIGHER in big games, and there are those that are great but do not step up to the next level in big games.
I am simply asking… if you believe Henry doesn’t… and if this is what you are going to get from him… what do you propose we do? who do you propose we bring in, if anyone.
I personally would NOT change a thing. I think Thierry Henry is fantastic, and makes the players around him BETTER, simply by being on the pitch and drawing all the attention. Its up to Reyes and Bergkamp and Freddie and Pires to STEP UP. (incidentally, which they did NOT do on Sunday)
October 27th, 2004 at 12:06 pm
No stag, i don’t need us to do anything about Henry. All I want is just a little bit of improvement from Henry’s part, to try a little bit harder, for the team’s clause. There is always room for improvement. It’s that simple.
October 27th, 2004 at 12:28 pm
Stag, before you went wild of my assessment towards Henry - how dare you critized our best player? You must understand where i was coming from. I’m at my early 30s, i grew up watching boring boring Arsenal. Those days our players were “warriors”, from David Seaman to our star man Ian Wright, everybody fought every match like it’s their very last. Therefore my expectation towards the term “work rate” is very high. I love seeing players playing their heart out even that mean they could link a decent pass together. That’s the thing I admire and respect. If i started watching Arsenal since AW arrived, the term work rate might have been so important in my eyes. But i can’t help man. ‘Cos afterall the fighting spirit of Arsenal was the first thing attracted me in supporting the club. And to me the fighting spirit is the heart and soul of Arsenal. i love Henry, love his skills, talent, and his bubbling charater and wonderful sportsmanship. But there is always room for improvement for everyone and everyt eam right? i’m never the one to call for replacement, just because Henry lack a bit of work rate then we should replace him? Give me a bit of credit Stag, you have known me long enough to believe i would be that naive right?! So cheers man, no matter what all we wrote on this site, the bottom line is - i believe EVERY SINGLE ONE of us at the end of the day is just want our team to do well.
October 27th, 2004 at 12:43 pm
Andez… no disrespect meant. I love your contributions… and I know you are Arsenal true and thru… thick and thin.
I am also early thirties… and started watching Arsenal around 10-12 years ago… Ian W and the boys…
but at the end of the day,most of the time, you can’t change a player from what they are. I am simply saying that this might be what we get from Thierry Henry… IF… he is always going to be this type player… would you swap him… would you be looking for someone else??
It wasn’t meant as an attack… I just wondered if you felt we might be better off with someone else.
Who out there do you feel steps up in the big match? Ronaldo? Most strikers have their limitations or drawbacks… no player is the perfect player.
October 27th, 2004 at 6:31 pm
yup, you offered an interesting angle here - who could step us in big game? Quite rare these days you are right. Players like Maradona, Platini are long gone.
No man, i wouldn’t swap Henry for anyone. I love the guy. Perhaps u r right he is the way he is, hopefully he could push himself into a higher level. i really think he got everything MJ got with basketball - a tremendous physical gift. Only difference is mentally.
October 27th, 2004 at 10:50 pm
Well, you have to admit… that at his best, Michael Jordan had arguably the 2nd best player in basketball at his side… Scottie Pippen. He never won a title without Pippen. Throw Rodman in there… and Steve Kerr…. and you still need all the parts to win the Championship!
Thats why I say… its Pires and Bergy and Freddie and Reyes who need to STEP UP. Get up to Henry’s level of play… when they do, we tend to play teams off the pitch. Thats the Arsenal we all love to watch. Shock and Awe.